Hello guys, These days I'm trying to make a sort of a catalog of all my coins, to put everything in order and organized... So I'm going through each coin - making better pictures (as far as my photography skills allow me ), description, references, etc. So (to the point) I just noticed that my Constantine 2 follis might be Thessalonica 128 (r3 (4 - 6 known coins)) instead of, as I thought before - Thessalonica 122 (c1 (22 - 30 known coins))... Unfortunately, it is very worn out, so it is hard to say... The legends are supposed to be: Avers: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C Revers: CAESARVM NOSTRORVM around VOT / . / X What do you think? Am I right, or I'm the only who see mint mark "TSΔVI"?
I got to be honest. I cannot tell from the image. Sorry. But it is good to get that catalog going as soon as you can once you start collecting. Otherwise, it becomes a chore. I don't know how many times I changed and re-organized my catalog. Oh, and make sure you have it backed up. My computer crashed last year, and I couldn't imagine starting all over again. Luckily, I had most, if not all, backup in several places.
Sorry, but I can't really tell from your photo ... I'm sure that one of the gang will probably stumble across this thread and think "hey look, a coin-challenge" ... sadly, I have zero-skills in that category (yah, every now and then I seem to have even less than zero skills!!) Oh, and just for the record, the cool kids are calling him Constantine-II I hope you're having an awesome Saturday => I'm about to go BBq a rib-eye and watch the Maters Golf which I've taped ("PLEASE" don't fricken tell me the outcome => that would be wrong, right?) I wish you good luck on your coin hunt
Sorry, I can't help either.....that coin is too environmentally damaged for me to decipher anything from the reverse mintmark. But, there still may be a few on CT who may be able to help.
Yeah... I know it's difficult to see it... That is what I see: Anyway, at least I can identify the emperor... Until now I was writing everything on word files. Separate file for each coin. Nightmare... Now everything is online (in 1 file). I also don't trust my computer. Thanks for the wishes Steve! My Saturday is already Sunday so I'm going to bed... Have fun with the BBQ and the golf!
I think your reading of the mint mark might be plausible, but don't confuse RIC rarity ratings with real-world availability. RIC rarity ratings only apply to the coins sampled by the authors. Those samples are large, but not exhaustive, and many coins have been discovered since. There are coins marked common in RIC that you could spend a lifetime searching for and never find (on the market that is). By the same token, I've bought various LRB's and looked them up to discover that they are rated r4 or r5, and I thought, heck... To make matters even mushier, in the world of ancient coins, rarity frequently doesn't translate into desirability (and therefore market value), particularly when it comes to LRB mint-mark rarities. Why you may ask? Because not enough collectors (sometimes none) care. C'est la vie! As far as the Vota/Wreath types go, I don't go out of my way to collect them, but sometimes a nice one falls into my lap at a cheap price and I can't resist their charm. They are sort of the Roman version of Wheat Pennies. I picked up this Constantine I in Baltimore last week...
Guess what I happen to have. I paid $10.89 postpaid on eBay a couple years ago. I suppose some people would say it is worth double if they were trying to sell it and half if they were trying to buy it. Condition is everything in coins, ancients included, when it comes to price but not always when it comes to interest. Ours have equal interest and will be equally unable to put the kids through college. I do so very much wish RIC had never published their rarity rating system or at least they had made the explanation of how it works a little more prominently placed so more people would understand what it did and did not mean.
CONSTANTINE II AE Follis OBVERSE: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB CAES, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right REVERSE: CAESARVM NOSTRORVM, laurel wreath around VOT X, GamaSIS(sunburst) in ex. Struck at Siscia 321-4 AD 2.90g. 18 mm RIC VII 182,G
I expect that the RIC rarity ratings are not reliable (or not anymore). I’m mainly glad that I was able to identify it properly… I like to know everything for my coins – where they were struck and the historical context in which they were used… Of course it gives me a nice feeling to think that somewhere, someone in the 60’s thought that this coin type is rare… even though since then probably thousands from this type have been found… Desirability and price… Yes, I guess they are not very high since I didn’t pay anything for that coin – it was a bonus with another coin. Maybe I paid too much for the other coin and the seller felt bad for me…?
